Green v Jones Jr: Before, After and After That

Generally, when creating a boxing promo, we are given between two and five days. This project was different, or at least appeared to be different at first. My colleague Brett Morris and I, were given two weeks to design and produce a promo for the upcoming Green V Jones Jr fight here in Sydney. However, after the first two days of work the deadline was cut by a week!

Not so bad considering the footage had already been shot, but we had no storyboard, no edit and no idea what we were going to do with the footage. By the end of the five days we delivered the following promo, created in Adobe After Effects, shown here with the original untreated cut (with draft audio).

Brett motion-tracked the green screen footage using SynthEyes. Brett also demonstrated flair with Trapcode Particular to add the swooshes and impact particles to the fight vision. I particularly like the particle trails and how smaller particles shoot out like sweat as punches land.

The fighters were keyed with Keylight using a very effective technique Brett learned from Mark Christiansen in one of his courses presented on fxphd.com. The fight vision treatment is a combination of Zaxwerks 3D Warps to bend the vision and CC Ball Action, with Trapcode Starglow for the Jumbotron effect.

The fighters were graded using a combination of Magic Bullet Looks and a cool blue Tritone and Photo Filter (both standard AE filters) adjustment layer. The flares come courtesy of Knoll Light Factory but, it must be stated, that I would have have used Video Copilot Optical Flares had it been available at the time. I did however use Video Copilot Twitch to add some flashes and other artifacts throughout.

The title text for the pack shot was created by Brett in Cinema 4D and imported into After Effects with the 3D data for final compositing.

Personally I think the final result was great considering the circumstances of the project. However, the client felt it wasn’t right. So we ended up being given another week to make modifications based on an updated script supplied by the client, along with a new music track.

As Chris Meyer mentions in Unplugged “there’s always time to do it over”. Unfortunately though, I was pulled off of this for another campaign, so it was up to Brett to make the modifications, with the assistance of DesignFTC Art Director – Mark Bowey. Here is the final.

The client wanted a much hotter look, including fire, smoke and sparks. For that Brett turned to Video Copilot’s Action Essentials 2. The new text was added in After Effects based on a camera move set up in Cinema 4D and exported to After Effects. Brett finds Cinema 4D camera animation more intuitive than After Effects.

I don’t mind the second version but prefer the colour of the original, especially in the video walls which really highlights the action. I feel the original has a premium, black-label quality which the re-do lacks. Brett mentioned he also prefers the original. So how about you? Which do you prefer?

I definitely like the look & feel of the first version better, it’s a more entertaining story too. The second version is a little bit boring as it only seems to have the fire and more fire + the grading isn’t that fancy. Like the blue grading & contrast from the first one better.

Good job & fun to see that clients can be the same all around the world :).

Hey John, I love your work and your website. Your contribution to the motion graphics community is great. I agree with you that the first spot is better overall. I didn’t care for the somewhat jerky camera animation for the text sequences in the second. Perhaps it matches the audio track, but for me the audio wasn’t playing. The color and effects in the first one are very nice!

The only piece that I didnt care for in the first piece was the segments showing the boxer’s names at :10 and :18. Since the foreground boxing shots are dark and cool and then you have all the movement, brightness, and color in the background, my eyes naturally had a hard time trying to focus on something. I knew I should probably be looking at the foreground, but the background kept stealing the show. I think the treatment is better in the second piece around :37. I also like the close up shots with the sparks and smoke around :33, very nice! But thats the only piece I’m a little critical of. The first one rocks.

Love the particle effects as well. Just curious, did you use the 3d motion tracking data and apply it to a light for that effect? Or was it keyframed by hand?

Hey Devin, thanks for the considered response. The conflict with the text in the first spot was one of things the client had a problem with too. We should have placed it in the foreground but to be fair, we were only told about the need for text at the last moment.

There should be music with the second spot (which the camera moves match) so I’ll re-compress and re-upload. I also like the close-ups with the sparks.

The particle effects were hand tracked using AE lights as the emitters in Trapcode Particular 2.

Fair enough! That’s why I hesitate to make critiquing comments. We as viewers rarely understand the restraints under which each project was created, and it’s really not fair to you as the artist. I really appreciate seeing your work. It’s inspiring to those of us who are still maturing in the field! I keep watching the first one. I love the warped jumbotron look!

Hi Devin, I’ve got an eSeminar coming up soon for Adobe, so I might put the Jumbotron technique in so you can see how I created it. Best, John.

kwakuNovember 23rd, 2009

Would it be possible to hear a little more about how that text sequence in the second version was done. Very impressive.

Brett MorrisNovember 24th, 2009

Hey guys, Yes I used CS Tools – docucam for the camera move and keyframed it around the scene. I recommend this to anyone wanting you emulate a hand held feel to their camera moves, there’s some great settings in there to really get some interesting pop zooms and wobbles. I blocked the camera move with text holders within cinema 4d and attached external compositing tags to them so I could take that 3D data into after effects and create the type there. I really enjoy this workflow because it gives me the freedom to get as creative as possible with the camera and know that anything I do in after effects will marry up in the scene.
Cheers,
Brett

I prefer the second as a concept (as i think it matches the spot a lot better the first is a bit too pretty :)), but think the first was executed much better, did you spend less time on the second version?

Hi Nailmalwan, there was an extra week given for the second version but the guidelines weren’t totally clear, so it ended up being a case of making some changes, client checking, then making some more changes. Not the optimal way to work. Best, John.

I prefer the first one. I seriously have to investigate all the CC plug-ins. I’ve been looking for a way to create an LCD effect for a while now. Usually, i’ll try and make a material in Cinema 4D, but this technique is fantastic!

I think it’s ‘apples and oranges’ for me; I like both of them. I think it best demonstrates that there is always more than one way to do something. I feel each works in their own way; but, that’s just the way I see it. Isn’t that the beauty of this field (Motion Graphics), we can effect so many people in so many different ways; and, just like any other art form, it can connect in a unique and individual way with every person who views it.

The original has more polish and glitz with I think fits considering the size of the title fight.
I feel like it has the more grandiose feel of a title fight than the second one which has a more grungy underground boxing match type feel. I like both but the first one fits better.

I thought the color grade on the boxers in the original needed a little more of a warming tone. There seems to be a little too much blue or purple for my taste.

The particular streaks are tremendous. Really well done.

Both cuts feel a little long. Having finished audio in the first could fix. The second one needs more audio overall. In a 1 minute promo there needs to be an announcer IMO.

Great work on both. I would give anything to have the kind of budget that includes green-screen, 2 editors and storyboards on a promo!!!

Dear JD
First one does it for me, the second one looks a bit to video copiloty to much fire effects etc, not that its a bad thing, just a bit OTT, the first looks and feels right, not so much text to read etc. The trapcode work is just brilliant, green with envy here!

Also to Ryan, just watched your demo file and that is also amazing, just brilliant.

What makes it sooo different from – and I’d say better than – the 2nd one are :
a/ the presence of an off voice (is it the good word for it ?), which lacks in the 2nd one ;
b/ the relations you created between what this voice says and the images.

Though, the first one is too overweighted for me : they’re too many elements with too many saturated colors spread on the whole screen. There is no real focus (as opposed to the 2nd one, much simpler), and the eyes have no direction.
It seems to me it’s mainly due to the colors.
Maybe just having colors a bit less saturated, and a discreet vignette, would be enough…

Anyway, that’s just my 2 cents. And I love these kind of posts, it’s always very interesting.

Hi Boreale, the client had the same problem with the background screens conflicting with the action in the foreground, which is a fair call. Don’t take my blog as indicative on Australia, I just happen to do work for Main Event which features boxing events. 🙂

Both look great and i think the difference is probably just personal taste.. But here are the things i noticed..

The text at the start of the final looked odd behind the fire and being a hollow outline didnt look right to me.. It just seemed a bit too obscured..

The dynamics of the finals sequence i think is good though.. It builds well and is especially cool when the songs vocals come in at the end and the audio level lifts.. That together with the slow pans of the boxers give it that epic “Rocky” quality. I dont have foxtel though so maybe this is done to death and i just dont know ??

The original looks great and the pixellated screen effect looks really cool but the audio lets it down most i think.. I think its exectued better (visually) but the way the “story” plays out with the audio doesnt make it seem as epic..

The call and response idea between announcer and boxer quotes is cool, but the way its mixed and cuts so evenly back and forth is where i think it could be better. Especially the first Danny quote.. The EQ on it sounds totally different to the other samples, and the way it chops off makes it stick out too much (IMO).

If the music was something with more impact and the commentaries sat in the mix better i think it would be rocking…

I want to say John.. I have just found your site and im really impressed by the quality of the work you do and also very appreciative of the tutorials you have created.. Thanks.

ooh, going against the consensus here but after viewing each spot twice… I actually feel the second one is better. I didn’t want to get too caught up with the effects and colours (as I did prefer #1’s colours), but tried to just ‘feel’ it as someone watching a promo on Foxtel. Overall, #2 got me more excited about the fight than #1. It had more energy about it…. though I agree the hollow font wouldn’t have been my first choice either.

Hi Storm, great feedback thanks. I also feel that although the first is prettier, it suffers from a poor script and is basically and bunch of keyed shots in front of a bunch of boxing vision. If we’d had more time to consider the project up front we could have found a better balance between both examples. Best, John.

Hi Ianh, I’m looking at cameras at the moment too. Many people have suggested the Canon HV20. I’m probably not the best person to ask as this hasn’t been an area I’ve looked into for some time. Good luck, John.

I like them both but really the 1st one is by far a better piece. I think the music in the 2nd one throws it all outta whack for me. Like I said they are both done very very nicely, but the 1st one for sure. But, you know, the one signing the check is always “right” whether they are or not if you know what I mean…

John hello, I just want to ask you, if you can do a similar tutorial with text which you used in this video, can you do it for us?Please.. or maybe you know some links which have a similar effects tutorial.

I really like both. I think personally it is a preference thing as to which one I like the most. The first one I really like the technique, it almost feels a bit futuristic with the cool tones. For me personally I don’t like the dialogue as much. The second one feels more like a mix between a boxing promo and a music video. I really like the Action Essentials elements especially behind the keyed footage. Overall very well done. I am curious about the song in the second one. Was it created for the piece or is it an actual song you can buy?

Hi Chris, the first one didn’t really have a script so it relied on Brett and I to make it look cool. The second one had a script so is more cohesive as a promotion. It would have been best to have the right script up front! Best wishes, John.

Hi John,both are incredible work ,but I was more taken by the first one as it put me in the fight scene instantly and blew my mind with those ` impact particles ` with there traces .
The motion tracking of those swooshes and impact was flawless and pro of course (was SynthEyes used for motion tracking ?)
I have heard that AE doesn`t have a the best motion tracking tool and animators often use other software ,is that because those software give you a better result or easy to use or is there other reason .
Thank again for sharing with us your work .

Hi Zaher, Brett manually tracked the particular emitters to the boxers gloves. I love how the particles look when treated with the ball action layer. AE has never had a very good tracker unfortunately. Best wishes, John.

Very impressive! And not just on the surface… the more I watched it the more I was engaged with the sheer amount of details that you guys didn’t miss.

And yes, I also think the first was better. Everything worked in harmony, while the second one seemed to have something missing (at least in the first section). Not to mention color harmony was better in the first, too. Oh well, that’s the way it works in this industry, eh?

The first one is way better but needed a quicker tempo background music. Also, It just seemed a little slow, speed it up a bit and need more of a quick action tempo feel to bring some feeling of anticipation.

Being a HUGE fight fan (both Boxing and MMA) That is some great work. The first one in my opinion blows the 2nd away. No disrespect to no one but the first seems to be out of the 2nd’ league with a definitive top shelf polishing. Plus it moves so much smoother and even though the 2nd uses more moves, this one utilizes 3d space more dramatically. I think the first looks especially cinematic, to me the music is quite fitting, with a some nice use of frame rates etc, def a very solid piece. Sometimes clients just don’t see what the artists see, sometimes I wonder if clients are asleep at times(but thats a story onto itself) 🙂 . Great work and great site!